Be part of Solution not Problem!

Kaurava army began to flee, but Salya appeared on the scene. After rallying his soldiers, he launched a ferocious attack upon Pāndava forces. A great battle took place between Maharāj Yudhisthira, Bhima, Draupadi’s sons, Nakul & Sahadev on one side and Salya, Kripā, Asvattāma, Krtvarma, Duryodhana & Sakuni on the other

 

Salya killed Sahadev’s horses, but in retaliation Madri’s son jumped from his chariot & killed Salya’s son with his sword. Salya attacked Yudhisthira & so Bhima came with his mace upraised. That celebrated iron mace had eight sides & was bedecked with numerous jewels, as well as the blood and fat of countless slain warriors. With it Bhima crushed Salya’s horses to death. In retaliation Salya angrily hurled a lance that passed right thro’ Bhima’s armour & pierced his chest. Without wavering in the least, Bhima pulled out the lance and used it to kill Salya’s driver

 

Upon seeing this display of superhuman prowess, Salya became simultaneously astonished & depressed. In that state of mind, he picked up his mace & got down from his chariot. When Bhima rushed at him, a brutal duel began while all others stood aside as spectators

 

No difference in skill could be discerned between these two great wielders of the club as they moved around in circles and jumped high to avoid one another’s blows. When the two powerful maces clashed, the sparks generated made them appear ablaze. Due to striking each other’s limbs, both Bhima & Salya soon became soaked with their own blood

 

Then it so happened that both heroes struck one another simultaneously with great force, so that together they fell down dazed onto the ground. Krpā quickly came and picked Salya placing him on his chariot

 

Salya returned to the battlefield & when he attacked Yudhisthira, Bhima Sātyaki Nakul & Sahadev attacked back all at once. Still Salya resisted them with wonderful skill. While simultaneously foiling innumerable arrows showered upon him, Salya broke the bows wielded by Sahadev, Yudhisthira & Sātyaki. After this amazing feat, Salya roared victoriously. Even though this made the Pāndava heroes more belligerent, Salya blazed up like a raging fire and drove them away

 

Seeing this, Yudhisthira became furious. After summoning his brothers & Sri Krsna, he announced: Today I will kill Salya without fail, or else be killed by him. Salya was given to me as my quota, and whereas all of you have fulfilled your obligations, I have not yet been able to do so

 

When things go wrong, finding someone to blame is a default human tendency. We tend to find the scapegoat, with clear aversion to reflect on the self for faults. Wise people understand two fundamental truths about reality, which must be kept in mind if we like to be part of the solution & not the problem

 

The first is that bad things sometimes just happen. We need to be prepared for setbacks, because this world is after all characterized by distress. The second is that finding out exactly why something bad has happened is not easy because the intricacies of actions are difficult to understand

 

Once we accept these truths in mind, along with keeping our adherence to Dharma intact, we can approach problems differently. Rather than asking-Who is responsible for the wrongs? We can direct ourselves with a different question: Now that the wrong has happened, who will be responsible for dealing with it competently & fixing it concretely

 

Such a shift is empowering, for it opens the door to the opportunity to step forward & volunteer to be a part of the solution

 

Thoughts? #gameoflife

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